By empowering residents to recycle everything that we can, we extend the life of our landfill and keep harmful gasses out of our environment and our bodies.
We delay–or hopefully prevent entirely–the expense of digging a new landfill, reduce the emission of highly destructive greenhouse gasses, like methane, into the atmosphere, and decrease our risk of adverse health effects related to exposure to landfill gas.
Moreover, many hard-to-recycle materials, particularly plastics, Styrofoam, and electronics create significant environmental dangers as they sit in a landfill. Beyond methane, all of these materials leach or offgas dangerous chemicals into the soil and air, creating a human health and environmental health hazard.
Finding ways to reduce how much hard-to-recycle materials we send to our Buncombe County Landfill in Alexander is a win-win-win for residents.
2025 / 2026 Hard 2 Recycle Dates
Our community values recycling.
Every single day we get earnest calls from residents wanting to know how to recycle all kinds of materials, from fire extinguishers to wheelchairs, to keep them out of the landfill.
We never want to have to say “No, we can’t recycle that.”
At our Hard 2 Recycle events, we give area residents the chance to keep 20 categories of hard-to-recycle materials out of the landfill. Our events are held six times per year in locations spread throughout Buncombe and Henderson counties. Your gift supports the dedicated team that works for weeks to set up the logistics, coordinate the service providers, arrange the locations, recruit and train the volunteers, and most importantly make sure that all the materials collected are safely delivered where they can be recycled.
Our dedicated Hard 2 Recycle volunteers are responsible for the success of this unique 13-year-old waste reduction program.
60
Hard 2 Recycle Events
1,905
Volunteers
8,580
Volunteer Hours
933,000 pounds
of recyclable materials kept out of the landfill
Asheville GreenWorks has held Hard 2 Recycle events since 2011. In that time we’ve developed close working relationships with many local recycling services and providers. Beyond that, we have a community of repeat volunteers–and recyclers–who always thank us for providing this close-to-home service.
Your gift helps us host six annual Hard 2 Recycle events each year that allow thousands of residents to keep hard-to-recycle materials out of the landfill.
You support our dedicated staff team as they arrange the logistics with our partners, find and negotiate the requirements at each new location, secure trucks and dumpsters to collect the materials, and coordinate the drop-off.
You educate residents about what can and cannot be recycled in Buncombe and Henderson counties.
You engage school groups, employee volunteer teams, sports teams and scout troops, and community organizations in a safe, accessible volunteer opportunity with a big impact on the community. For example, one of our long-time Hard 2 Recycle volunteer teams is the Glitch Robotics club, a multi-school technology club in Buncombe that takes good-condition electronics collected at Hard 2 Recycle and repairs them for resale at the Habitat Restore.
You recruit new recycling partners to expand the variety of materials we are able to keep out of the landfill.
You give us the resources to purchase or rent the materials that give us the capacity to hold such large events, such as signage, trucks, and dumpsters.
Donate Now
Will you give a gift today to preserve our landfill, reduce the greenhouse gas emissions we contribute to the atmosphere and give a new life to hard-to-recycle items?
Other Ways to Give
Volunteer at Hard 2 Recycle
To be successful, each Hard 2 Recycle event requires about 60 volunteers. Want to lend a hand?
Sponsor a Hard 2 Recycle
Your business or organization can take the lead on one of our most popular community events. Reach out to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.